Happy #tastytuesday friends! Today’s allergy friendly review brings us back to one of my all-time favorites: Garden Grill Restaurant. If you’ve been following me for a little bit, you may already know that I will 100% of the time recommend Garden Grill as your go-to allergy friendly breakfast experience on your Walt Disney World vacation. However, Garden Grill is not offering breakfast as an option right now, so I opted to try lunch/dinner instead, as the food is the same for both meals.
I made a reservation for me and my mom at 6:35pm, and we were able to do mobile check-in 15 minutes before our reservation. This picture probably describes the current atmosphere of the restaurant the best. Normally this area is hustling and bustling as people are eating in the restaurant or walking by to visit Soarin’ or Living with the Land. But, this area was so quiet. Like creepy quiet.
If you didn’t know already, Garden Grill is located upstairs in The Land pavilion in Epcot’s Future World. It is a slowly circulating restaurant that looks over Living with the Land, one of the pavilion’s attractions. Currently, guests are only being seated on the bottom section of the restaurant for proper social distancing.
Here is a look at the allergy friendly menu, which is a paper paper menu to be discarded after use. Garden Grill serves family-style skillets for all of its meals, so I ordered the allergy friendly skillet, and my mom ordered the regular one. The cast member asked me if I felt comfortable with the menu or if he should ask a chef to come talk to me. I let him know I was all set, as he was very aware of my food allergies (dairy/eggs/gluten for this meal- maybe I should do a post about why I am only putting gluten/wheat down for allergies when I need to?).
The first course was allergy friendly bread and non-dairy buttery spread. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but Disney has changed their allergy friendly bread service in the last year, and it’s AMAZING. I keep forgetting to ask about the brand, so I’ll make sure to do that the next time I get the bread service. 10/10 for me!
The next course was a family style salad. Garden Grill actually gets all of its fruits and veggies from the greenhouses that you tour in Living with the Land, so this salad was super fresh and delicious. The dressing was light and coated the lettuce nicely. My mom and I were able to share the salad, as it was made allergy friendly for me. 10/10 for the salad as well!
Next, I was served the allergy friendly dinner skillet with corn, green beans, grilled beef, roast turkey breast, and rice pilaf. We also received a side of freshly made cranberry sauce for the table, which I scooped up before my mom to prevent cross contamination.
I decided to try a little but of everything. Even though it’s not pictured, I did take a bite of the rice pilaf, and it was good. I am just not a huge rice pilaf fan in general. I really enjoyed both the corn and the green beans. They were cooked well in olive oil with a light seasoning of salt and pepper. The turkey was unbelievably moist and delicious, and paired so well with the fresh cranberry sauce. I was most disappointed with the beef overall. Because the chimichurri sauce on the beef contained dairy, it was not added to my skillet, so the beef did not really have any seasoning. The entire skillet was an 8/10 for me.
And let’s not forget about the character interactions!! I loved seeing my faves: Mickey, Pluto, Chip, & Dale.
The character interactions were still fun, even though the characters could not come right up to your table. I did have a little trouble seeing them and talking to them, and these pictures were interesting to get, but the experience still made me so happy. Plus, this is only 1 of 2 character meals available in all of Walt Disney World, so I am happy I could see them!
Overall, although I had a great dinner at Garden Grill, I still think I prefer the breakfast option. I am not sure when it will return, but lunch and dinner here are great alternatives if you’re missing breakfast.
Here’s to living our best and most delcious Disney lives! <3
~ Meagan
Meagan has been living with many food allergies and sensitivities since she was 19 years old. She is currently a Personal Vacation Advisor for Magical Vacation Planner, specializing in helping her guests book trips to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort. Meagan enjoys researching fitness and nutrition and has taken a special interest in finding allergy friendly options at Walt Disney World.
Interested in having Meagan help you plan your next trip? Send her an email at m.slone@magicalvacationplanner.com or get a free quote at https://magicalvacationplanner.com/staff/meagan-slone/!
Hi! So they were able to accommodate for an egg allergy even though it is not listed on the allergy menu? I’ve heard they are strict on substitutions so we’re hesitant to go there. Is it just due to cross contamination?
Hi! And yes! I have eaten here many times (probably too many times!) and they are always able to accommodate my egg allergy no problem. You can actually eat everything on the menu with an egg allergy for lunch and dinner. Breakfast (which is not being offered right now) is the only time when eggs are a big issue, so they are removed from the skillet before it’s brought to the table. If you are worried about cross contamination or certain brands of food, talk to the cast member who is serving you and they will be able to accommodate you to the best of their ability. What I’ve learned by eating at many Walt Disney World property restaurants is that even if the menu says “no substitutions,” WDW will still allow guests with allergies to make requests and accommodate them when they can. I hope this is helpful!